Poetry Break: “Let Me Tell You How I Died” – Dogfight

So… where were we with this poetry series?

Those of you who have followed me for awhile might recognize it. A few years back, I tapped into my rhyming writer origins and penned a big poem (consisting of a lot of smaller poems, really) about the various evil ways wars have ended innocent human lives. I enjoyed posting it in small installments, but then came 2020. Given all the challenges chucked at us, I didn’t have the heart to continue with it.

However, there are still a lot of segments left to share with you. Since I’m working on a new series all about WWI aviators, I couldn’t resist pulling this one out of my files and dusting it off. I do plan on sharing the rest of those poems at some later date too. I guess we’ll see how things go.

But until then, here’s a little piece of it, in the spirit of my upcoming articles:

LET ME TELL YOU HOW I DIED

PART II – SEGMENT 5

Dogfight

Flying high over the skies of France

The breeze makes the wires of my plane wings dance

Below me the world is indifferent and small

Makes me wonder why humans fight each other at all

The men in the mud are like tiny brown dots

The scratches of barbed wire look like harmless spots

But that isn’t so with the Archie blasts

They burst at my head, hope my plane lasts

Suddenly I hear the familiar sound

The sizzle of bullets – an enemy fighter inbound!

I rev up my engine and get into line

My wingman gives the signal, it’s our time to shine

The enemy planes barrel into our midst

It’s a game of kill or be killed, that’s the gist

I let out my bullets in a red-hot spray

The tracers glow, and add to the fray

Then a shot to my fuel tank, the smoke pours out

The flames erupt, burn hot, I give a shout

Burning alive is no way to die

So I grab my pistol, one shot, goodbye

To Be Continued…

Sky Photo by M.B. Henry – for more sky shots, click here. 

Next up on the WWI Aviator series – American Ace and “Balloon Buster” Frank Luke!

But first…

M.B. Henry On Hiatus! 

It’s been a very busy summer in our new home state of Indiana! Plus, things are picking up with my novel debut, now titled “All the Lights Above Us,” scheduled for release in May of 2022. Therefore, I need to take a short break from the website to get all my little writing duckies in a row. But I will be back after Labor Day to continue with the WWI Aviator Series, and to visit all of your lovely blogs. Until then – be safe out there! Keep in touch on Twitter and Instagram – Handle @mbhenry1985